It’s the first major employer in the state to announce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees. And the announcement from the Henry Ford Hospital System in Detroit has been a shock to employees. The system sent out word last month it was requiring employees to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

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Health administrators around the state have been applauding the decision.
But hundreds of hospital employees and supporters were protesting over the weekend.

The metro Detroit medical system employs about 33,000 people. Many are still working remotely from home. And the system executives say they too need to submit to COVID-19 vaccination or lose their jobs.  The deadline imposed by the medical system is early September.

Some employees say they are not against vaccines, but don’t want one that only has experimental level approval. Others say it’s simply a personal choice they should not be forced to lose their job over.

Medical system leaders say they’ve made up their minds and there’s little anyone can do at this point whether it’s more protests or any other method of disagreement, that will make them change their minds.

Henry Ford’s CEO posted a personal message about the issue on the system website over the weekend. President and CEO Wright Lassiter III telling employees and Metro Detroit area residents, “We acknowledge the magnitude of this decision and we did not make it lightly. We are not the first organization to do this, and we will not be the last. We have never been more committed, than we are today, to our mission to improve the lives of those we serve throughout our communities.”

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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